Tony Romo (Getty Images)
Tony Romo pleaded no contest Tuesday to an operating while intoxicated charge stemming from his July 23 arrest in Wisconsin. He also owes $834 in fines. Milwaukee County court records show he lost his driving privileges for six months and was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program.
That silence is, arguably, the loudest thing CBS has said since this whole story began. “The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant,” he wrote, adding that he intended to return to the broadcast booth. In a statement posted to Instagram, Romo apologized and signaled his intent to return to CBS. The network had no comment. Romo’s statement was unambiguous about one thing. CBS, which issued a perfunctory one-line statement when it placed him on leave in July, offered nothing in response. That disconnect matters. Reporter John Ourand of Puck noted that Romo’s statement was not coordinated with the network. That’s not a minor procedural detail — it signals a real split between the two sides. When a broadcaster and a network are on the same page, statements get aligned. They didn’t here.
Romo still has four years and roughly $72 million left on the 10-year, $180 million deal he signed in 2020. It did not include him in any of its Week 1 announcer pairings. This is where the story gets genuinely complicated. NFL insider Mike Florio wrote that if CBS tries to terminate his contract without paying out the remaining balance, it would likely set off what he called “a massive legal fight. Florio added that if Romo’s contract includes an arbitration clause, any dispute would likely stay out of open court. The most realistic outcome, he suggested, is a negotiated settlement, not a prolonged public battle. That makes sense. Neither side has much to gain from a courtroom fight that drags on through the NFL season. Reading the situation honestly, the signs are not encouraging for Romo. CBS barred him from its NFL Media Day in New York. Berson refused to offer any timetable for his return, and notably did nothing to push back on the perception that the network was done with him.